Crenver Grove

Intuitively I feel this is where one of the #tagscape exhibits will be – this spot in the wonderful Crenver Grove outside Praze-an-Beeble in Cornwall. Sustrust manages it and through them, and with them, I can work with communities that use the wood.

Dr Colin French, a Vice-county Recorder for Cornwall (a person in charge of the biological recording and other scientific data-gathered for the county), agreed to meet with me in the spring to discuss Crenver Grove and other projects. We looked at data held by the Environmental Records Centre for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (ERCCIS), which is hosted by Cornwall Wildlife Trust. He explained that the area wasn’t particularly interesting in terms of biodiversity and the ‘time-depth’ of the woods was shallow. However, we discussed that this was part of its story and although it might not be worth doing fieldwork such as taking core samples of the earth to analyse and draw, such ideas shouldn’t be dismissed. The story of this estate, its recent past and what stood there before and now still needs to be communicated.

As soon as the leaves formed on the Beech trees, I started to draw them botanically. You can view this work here as fieldwork has commenced in the woods. In the autumn, I will draw with #charcoal that has actually been made in the woods. I will also tackle tree and fern identification. It’s a great place to start thinking about #biomass and #biodiversity as well as community engagement.